AG refuses consent for initiating contempt action against Swara Bhasker

New Delhi, August 23

Attorney General K K Venugopal has refused his consent for initiating criminal contempt of court proceedings against Bollywood actor Swara Bhasker for her alleged “derogatory and scandalous” statements against the Supreme Court over the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case verdict.

The consent of either the Attorney General or the Solicitor General is necessary, under Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, for initiating contempt proceedings against a person.

Lawyer Anuj Saxena had sought consent of the Attorney General for initiating contempt action against the actor.

Venugopal, in a letter to Saxena on August 21, said the actor’s statement, which is in two paragraphs, appears to be a factual one and is a perception of the speaker.

“I do not think that this is a case where the offence of scandalising the court or lowering the authority of the court would arise. I, therefore, decline consent to initiate contempt proceedings against Swara Bhasker,” Venugopal said.

Saxena and others have alleged that Bhasker made these statements at a panel discussion on February 1, 2020 organised by the Mumbai Collective. — PTI